Much like it's predecessors, the Nord Electro 3 Seventythree stage piano/organ meets the demands of the performing keyboard player. It offers up some of the best stuff Nord has to offer in affordable and easy-to-use instruments. The keyboard is compatible with the Nord Piano library and takes full advantage of the Library's multitude of velocity layers, pedal-down samples, and extremely high quality samples providing you with unprecedented expressiveness. The keybed itself features a 73-key (6 octaves) velocity-sensitive, semi-weighted "waterfall" (square front) keyboard to help make this possible. Any current or future piano that is available for the Stage family will also automatically be available to the Nord Electro 3.

Exquisited New PianosRight from the start, the Electro 3 is loaded with a great selection of pianos. There are 3 acoustic grands (2 Yamaha C7s and one Steinway D) and 2 electric grands. Electric piano aficionados will love the time-based types; an Mk I, a Suitcase Mk I, an Mk II and an Mk V all with their unique and distinctive personalities. A great Wurlitzer A200 is present, as is the mighty Clavinet D6. The Clavinet type also includes the Harpsichords. There is a French harpsichord in the factory sound bank, and more to come in the Nord Piano Library download area. Each and every one of these pianos can be replaced if you wish. There are plenty more to choose from in the Library area, including some XL versions of Nord's grand pianos, with even more details like added velocity layers and pedal-down samples. And all those sounds are available for free.

Samples from the Nord LibraryNot only loaded with great piano sounds, the Electro 3 also sports some great samples to add flavor to your sonic arsenal. You'll find some of the classic Mellotron sounds, a selection of strings, celeste, vibraphone, and many others. And, just as with the piano partition, all of the samples can be replaced if the factory selection does not suit your immediate needs.

You can also add virtually any sound you want to the Nord Electro 3. Sounds that Nord offers for free come from the Mellotron Library or any other instrument from the expanding and extensive Nord Sample Library, which is the same format as what the Nord Wave uses.

Nord Sample EditorBy using the free Nord Sample Editor, you can add any sound you want to the Electro 3. The Sample Editor can use audio files in the .wav format and is equipped with some great tools to assist you in getting the results you want. Mapping several samples across the keyboard or creating perfect loops has never been easier. You can even start assembling your own samples today in the computer, without having the Nord Electro 3 present”just download the Editor, the Electro 3 manual, and fire away. The Nord Sample Editor is compatible with Windows XP and Vista, and Mac OSX.

Organ SectionThe growling sound, and the soul of a B3 is hard to replicate faithfully in a digital instrument. Nord spent years perfecting their digital models and the Electro 3 contains the best emulation so far. The attention to minute details is stunning”the Electro 3 is even equipped with 4 selectable tonewheel modes that stretch from a clean sound to a battered unit. The most dramatic setting is vintage 3 which produces a sound in the background of its own, even if you don't touch any keys.

It's All in the DetailsEvery function in a B3 has been considered and examined in great detail, to make the Electro 3's version as true to the original sound as possible. There are key clicks derived from the original busbar behavior and the energy robbing that produces the gentle compression when you do that massive palm smear across the keyboard. To get the response right, Nord has included the option to trigger the organ sounds at the very top of a key's range, making it react just as fast as the original. They also couldn't resist adding functions that went a bit further, like the option to either include or exclude the 9th drawbar when Percussion is activated.

Vox and FarfisaThe Farfisa and Vox models on the Electro 3 series are just as impressive as the B3. The massive, savage sound created by their 12-top oscillator frequency-divider designs is also a no-sample zone in the Electro 3; you have the same behavior and unique response from these models as in the original instruments. The Farfisa Compact Deluxe, considered by many to be the mother of transistor organs, involves routing matrixes and complex filter combinations that offer a tailored sound with massive energy and high-end. The Vox Continental's brute design brings you a more hollow tone, but with a very intense character. Both these transistor organs have their own unique, irreplaceable personalities. Combine them with any of the Electro 3's speaker simulations, add some distortion, adjust the EQ, and they will definitely get you through any organ gig with flying colors.

Organ SplitUsing the Organ Split mode, you can play 2 different organ registrations in a dual-manual fashion, one sound on either side of a user definable keyboard split point. Connect a second MIDI keyboard to the Electro 3, to use the organ split functionality, but in a true, dual-manual setup.

Effect SectionThe Nord Electro 3 is equipped with a great selection of high-quality effects, including a lush-sounding reverb with 5 different algorithms. There is also a selection of tremolo, panning, wah-wah, phaser, flanger, and chorus effects, and a ring modulator. You can further sculpt your final sound by choosing from a selection of 3 amplifier simulations that can add any amount of grit and distortion from gentle to manic levels. A 3-band EQ with sweepable mid-range and a compressor can be added to the final stage of the audio path.

Enhanced Rotary Speaker EmulatorThe rotary speaker emulator on the Elecro 3 piano originates from the award-winning Nord C1 Combo Organ, with its acclaimed sound quality. This rotary speaker emulator incorporates the acoustic variations that occur when a physical speaker spreads the sound in a room, providing the full experience of when the air is moved around.

The Nord Electro 3's rotary also features the addition of the Rotary Stop Mode. This allows users to switch between fast and stopped rotation, and back again, by using either the controls on the panel or with a footpedal (not included) connected to the Rotor Pedal input. This is a crucial functionality that mimics the behavior of early one-speed original rotary speaker units.

Those of you who are picky about the rotary behaviors will be pleased to find several user adjustable settings like speed and acceleration times for both treble and bass rotors. These options, as well as all the other System, MIDI, and Sound Menu functions are written on the right side of the panel, a great help for all those moments when the manual decided to stay at home.

The drawbars of Electro 3 are represented by up/down buttons and LED bar graphs instead of the ordinary mechanical drawbars to give you a big advantage: when you change programs, the correct drawbar settings are shown immediately by the LEDs

Vibrato/Chorus Control with separate functionality for each model (the classic C1, C2, C3, V1, V2, V3 options for the B3, Vibrato for the Farfisa)

4 Tonewheel modes: select the level of "vintage" you wish to have in your B3 sound

MIDI Split: Supports an extra MIDI keyboard when the Organ Split mode is activated, making it possible to use the Nord Electro 3 as a dual manual (Lower/Upper) organ with different drawbar settings for each manual

This instrument has amazing organ and electric piano sounds to say the least. The B3 organ sound is very close to my Hammond XK3 which is known to be the best digital organ in the business.

The Fender Rhodes Mark I, II, III &amp; IV Models are amazingly accurate to the real ones, I know since I have played a Mark II and compared both boards, and in fact the real one needed some work and didn't sound as good. The Rhodes Mark II, &amp; IV used with the tremolo effect is simply over the top and will impress anyone who loves the real Rhodes Pianos, especially other musicians.

The Clavinet and sound effects are incredible, the wah-wah effect really sounds good when used in conjunction with the Clavinet and can really get quick attention in a rock band. The guitars can take a long break when a good player knows how to use these effects, sorry guitar players.

The Farfisa and Vox especially can really shrill and make the hairs on your neck stand up, and for people under 40, this organ will be an education.

The Wurlitzer sounds acceptable but falls a bit short, night quite as meaty as the real deal but can still git-r-done in a band setting.

The acoustic piano patches are the achilles heel of this board and Nord needs to continue their efforts on this. I downloaded a 9' Steinway-D Concert Grand from the Nord site and it did not come close to my Yamaha P250 Stage piano over a PA system or powered monitor, it lacks the realistic sound and is not convincing in this department.

This board overall however is very satisfying since I bought it for the vintage sounds and light weight and it certainly can't be beat in those categories. All the functions are intuitive and geniously thought out for ease of use, Yamaha needs to take notes in this area since they are clueless.

Great Board!! I recommend it to anyone who is looking for the real deal vintage sounds that will impress all musicians and is extremely portable, good job Nord!

I bought this ax (Nord Electro 3 Seventythree Stage Piano/Organ) sight unseen back in 2009 when it came out just because it got such great reviews. At the time there was not one music store in my area that had one to try. Now they are showing up everywhere. I have a Hammond Porta B with a 147 Leslie, when I match up the draw bars on my Nord the only way to tell the difference in sound is the wind coming out of the Leslie. Take into account the piano(s) and hundreds of other samples...this thing ROCKS! I will be buying a second one very soon for a double deck setup.

The Nord Electro 3 73 is very well made. The organ sounds are about as close as you're going to come to a Hammond w/ Leslie without actually moving air. Sound-wise, some of my pet peeves will someone's else's favorite thing, so I'll not quibble. In terms of features, like so many other players in bands featuring guitarists, I wish the lowest note was E instead of F, and the highest one a G or A; but the octave-shift helps. On the computer side, the website and software, while easy enough to use, are both so last century- like late 80s: ouch! Considering the expense, there's no excuse. Not enough memory, site not well-designed. On dark stages, it'd be nice to be able to dim the bright red lights. Likewise, while in the dark between songs, it'd very nice to be able to read the switch and button names. Once I better memorize which button does what, that shouldn't be an issue. The written lists of System, MIDI and Sound information on the right side of the keyboard is easily covered with red or black duct tape, or a nice inspirational photo. The logos which face the audience take to black duct tape very well. I love the light organ keyboard action. The acoustic piano sounds are nearly unusable, but everyone knows that by now. This instrument is all about organ sounds. It's beautiful. And when the warranty lapses, I'll paint it black...

I'm not a millionaire by any means, so buying this guy was a little painful. BUT that being said : THIS IS THE RADDEST KEYBOARD I HAVE EVER PLAYED. I am blown away by how real the Rhodes sound is on this guy. I had a Rhodes 73 Suitcase that I sold last summer to pay my mortgage. Now that I have the Nord, I feel like I've got my Rhodes back, along with a huge arsenal of other instruments that I can play with! For recording songs that need a piano I'll probably still use my 100yr-old upright, just because I love the way it sounds, but for EVERYTHING else, this Nord will do the job. If you can afford it, or find a loan for it, or sell a nut for it, do it. You'll be stoked.

I've been playing rock and soul and R&B organ for over 40 years. Let me say this is one of the coolest organs I've ever played! The B3 on this thing can purr and shimmer like a brand new one in the showroom in 1955 or it can growl and scream like a battered road warrior that's been touring bars since 1955! The Lesie sim is just about perfect, too! And, it has awesome Wurlitzer and Rhodes electric pianos and a Hohner Clavinet and tons of great samples of everything from pipe organs to acoustic pianos to Celtic Harps to string sections and just about everything else! For vintage organ fans, the Farfisa and Vox models are just about perfect! This thing is just about perfect at what it does!

I just purchased the Nord Electro 3 Seventythree Stage Piano/Organ about a week ago and I must say that I am very impressed so far with all that it can do. I was originally looking for a digital piano that was affordable and functional with all the vintage sounds I was looking for. Well I stumbled upon the Nord in a music store and fell in love at the first note. The B3 sound is amazingly accurate and full of body. The piano sounds pretty good for not being a real piano. I especially like the fact that I can manipulate the sound of the organ, piano, and all of the 100 plus presets that are stored in the memory. However, if one is looking to get this keyboard, they should be prepared to play it through a decent amp because it deserves it.